You know what it’s like when a band you love loses key members, your loyalty is divided and you worry that they will never be the same, so it was with some trepidation that I inserted the CD into the player and pressed Play. With Roland and Eli now out on their own with the superb Masterplan CD (see review elsewhere) would the new members of Helloween change the bands sound and could the quality of material keep up now half the writers had gone, I worried needlessly.
Helloween have always come up with good material with a couple of exceptions, (Chameleon and Pink Bubbles Go Ape) but have managed to pull the metaphorical Rabbit out of the hat and I guess that’s where the title of the CD comes in. This is a different band from Dark Ride, I do like that CD but this is Helloween heavier than before and sounding more like the band in the Time Of The Oath/ Master Of The Rings period, which means they are on top form.
New Guitarist Sacha Gershna is no sloth when it come to the six stringed beast and slides into the Helloween sound with ease, not as charismatic as Roland but it’s early days yet, Andres’s vocals are as good as ever and Michael still churns out the riffs quicker than an SLR. And using Saxon’s drummer until they have a replacement works well.
Stand out tracks include; "Just A Little Sign", "I Listen To The Flies", "Don’t Stop Being Crazy", "Backs To The Wall" and "Hell Was Made In Heaven".
If like me you were a bit reticent about this CD, worry not, if you are a fan you will love this re vitalised band and they may even get some new fans. Imitators beware; the original masters are back on form.